verb
- Bring into difficulties or distress, especially financial hardship.
- Cause mental pain to.
- usage: "The news of her child's illness distressed the mother"
- synonyms: distress
adjective
- Causing distress or worry or anxiety.
- usage: "distressing (or disturbing) news"; "lived in heroic if something distressful isolation"; "a disturbing amount of crime"; "a revelation that was most perturbing"; "a new and troubling thought"; "in a particularly worrisome predicament"; "a worrying situation"; "a worrying time"
- synonyms: distressful, disturbing, perturbing, troubling, worrisome, worrying
- Bad; unfortunate.
- usage: "my finances were in a deplorable state"; "a lamentable decision"; "her clothes were in sad shape"; "a sorry state of affairs"
- synonyms: deplorable, lamentable, pitiful, sad, sorry
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). distressing. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/distressing/definitions/1172701 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "distressing" http://smartdefine.org/distressing/definitions/1172701 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, distressing, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/distressing/definitions/1172701>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "distressing" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/distressing/definitions/1172701> |